


The Risks of a Known Future

by Aviss



Category: Good Omens - Gaiman & Pratchett
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-16
Updated: 2010-02-16
Packaged: 2017-10-07 07:47:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/62966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aviss/pseuds/Aviss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes ignorance is a blessing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Risks of a Known Future

**The Risks of a Known Future**

The problem with knowing the future, Anathema thought, was that sometimes it gave too much information. And most of the time not nearly enough.

She had been fine with the idea of being the last descendant of Agnes Nutter and spending part of her life just trying to guess what the old witch saw was an occupation like any other. She would have never imagined that the time would come when she would have to try to guess what _she_ was seeing.

It all started quite innocently; short images of the future would come up on her dreams, a snatch of the weather here, next day's diner menu there, nothing of any importance. So Anathema didn't realize she was seeing the actual future until much later.

After that it would be parts of conversations, or maybe something that would come up on the local news. She was puzzled. If she was going to have that power it was a bit too late now to develop it. It would have been useful before the Almost-Apocalypse, now it was more of a nuisance. But being a Device, and a descendant of Agnes, she probably didn't have much choice in the matter. It was times like this she wished they hadn't burn the second book, it would have probably said if she was going to get the power. And why.

And then one day she woke up knowing, just knowing, that would be the day Newt was going to leave her. If anyone asked her how she knew, she would simply say it was in her dream. But it wasn't a dream like the rest of them; it had been clear and so full of details she didn't believe for a minute it was anything else than what it was: the future.

She had seen everything: the clothes he was wearing when he left in the morning; the breakfast she made; the call she received from a carpet cleaning service; his bag already packed at the door; his confused and sad face when he left. Everything was as clear as day. She could even remember the sounds and smells and the exact quality of the light.

So she prepared for it. If Newt was going to leave her after almost ten years he must have his reasons, who was she to fight against fate? She cried a bit in the morning, and then decided that she didn't want to make things harder for him. She packed his bag and left it at the door, in the exact same spot she knew it was supposed to be, and waited for his return.

Newt looked surprised to see the bag there, but she didn't let him speak in case she lost her nerve and begged him to stay. She wouldn't oppose the future.

"I know you're going to leave me, Newt," she said the moment he closed the door after him. "I've been seeing the future; I've seen you leaving me. I don't know why but I won't make this more difficult for you. You can leave now."

He looked at her as if she had lost her mind. "Anathema, I-"

"No, Newt," she cut him off, holding on to the last thread of her control. "If you're going to leave, you should leave. Now."

He frowned. "Have you been reading Agnes' predictions again? I thought we got rid of everything-"

"This has nothing to do with Agnes. I can see the future myself and you left-will leave-are leaving me, now! So leave already!" And she stomped into her bedroom and closed the door.

Ten seconds later she heard the front door closing. She didn't need to see Newt's face when he left; she could remember it perfectly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
`  
Getting used to be alone again was proving to be harder than she had expected.

She hadn't realized how much time and space Newt actually occupied in her life. And, since she didn't have Agnes' book to keep her distracted, most of the time she was bored out of her mind.

Trying to write down the dreams didn't help. It wasn't as if she had to interpret them, they weren't complicated predictions in an arcane language. They were crystal clear images of what was going to happen. But they weren't really helpful. Images of long traffic jams in the M-25 or a rainy afternoon couldn't be considered prophetic dreams; they were more like common sense in practice. And she really didn't need to know what Adam and The Them were up to. She had been the uninvited guest to one of their meetings. One was more than enough.

She kept thinking about Newt. Why had he wanted to leave? Why now? They had survived the End-Of-The-World-Well-Almost together; they had survived ten years of like and love together. Was it something she had done? Could she have done something to make him stay? But the dream had been clear; he was leaving. And it had been right; he had left.

It didn't help that the news of their break up spread pretty quickly. She didn't want to get sympathy filled phone calls or visits from old friends and certainly she wasn't expecting to be reprimanded by Shadwell and Madame Tracey for ‘breaking poor Newt's heart’. She wasn't the one doing the breaking, after all. It was Newt who left _her_; but they didn't want to hear about that.

And then, one night, she had another of those dreams.

She was getting more used to them by now, but still the sight of Adam on his knees presenting a ring to her was enough to cause nightmares to anyone who actually knew about him. How are you supposed to reject the Anti-Christ?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was almost ready for it when it happened.

Adam had been a regular visitor for years, be it alone or with the rest of his friends. they hadn't really changed that much over the years. Granted, they were taller and a bit more muscled and Pepper was definitely more feminine, but they were still the terrors she remembered.

Dog was still afraid to come into her house.

This time Adam came alone. He had been there a few days before, when he found out about Newt; but this time his mood seemed different. Anathema didn't want to tell him that she knew the reason, she didn't want to spoil his good mood so early, he was going to find out anyway soon enough.

"How are you feeling, Anathema?" he asked once they were sitting in the garden drinking iced tea.

"Better," she lied "I still don't know why he left, but I'm getting used to it."

He looked like he wanted to say something, but in the end he just smiled sadly and went for the clichéd response, as she knew he would. "It will get better, everything will work out. You'll see."

They continued the conversation with safer topics, the vacation, Adam's studies, Brian and Wensleydale's girlfriends, Pepper's plans to travel - the things she already knew. It was strange to replay the whole scene she had seen so vividly in her dream and she was getting nervous now that she knew the time for his confession approached.

"Pepper and I have been going out for a long time," he began, and Anathema nodded, it was no secret in Lower Tadfield that those two had been together since high school. "but lately I feel as if things are not quite all right. I know she wants something, I'm just not sure what it is."

She said nothing, but he didn't seem to expect her to.

"I've been wondering for a long time if we are meant to be together," he continued as Anathema got up from her seat and started to pace nervously, looking anywhere but him. "Maybe we are rushing through this, maybe we are really too young and should see more people-"

She heard him get up from his chair and the rustle of hands searching inside pockets. _Oh, no, I knew it. I was right. _ She thought, even though she had been sure since the moment he had knocked on her door, Dog barking cheerfully at a safe distance.

"So, Anathema, what do you think?" she turned to see Adam awkwardly kneeling with a ring on his hands. For a moment she wished her dream had been longer, that way she would know how was he going to take the rejection.

"Uhm, Adam-" she stammered, casting for something to say. Now that the future had become the present, she was at a complete loss. "you know I really appreciate you, and we've been friends for a long time but-"

His laugher took her completely by surprise.

"You-you think-" he couldn't speak properly; he looked up at her and she could see tears in his eyes. But he didn't seem upset; on the contrary, he looked terribly amused by something.

She didn't understand at first, and then it dawned. He wasn't proposing to _her_. The relief was so great she had to sit down and when she thought about the whole scene she couldn't help but laugh as well.

"Sorry Adam," she said when they calmed a bit, "I've been having this dreams of the future, and I thought-" she was a bit embarrassed to admit it now.

"I knew you were acting a bit weird, but I though it was because of Newt." He sobered. "So, do you think she will accept?"

She smiled sincerely for the first time; "She would be have to be mad to say no." she looked at him and stood up and extended her hand to help him up. "but I think you need to practice a bit more on the timing and the kneeling part… and putting that thing in a box will help."

Adam insisted on practising for the rest of the afternoon, until he had perfected the art of proposing to his future wife. Anathema didn't need the gift of prophecy to know Pepper was going to be delighted.

"You'll come to the wedding, of course?" He insisted when he was about to leave, they were at the door of her cottage chatting in the dim light of sunset.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Anathema said honestly; they had been friends for such a long time that it was an honour to be the first one to know. "I bet Newt will be thrilled when he knows … you know you can invite him as well, if you want, even if we won’t be going together."

Adam smiled mysteriously. "Don’t take that 'seeing the future' thing too seriously, Anathema. It's not set on stone, after all."

And he left. She stayed at the door for a few minutes thinking about what he said. The future might not be set on stone, but everything she had seen had happened, even if it didn't mean what she thought it did.

Feeling confused, Anathema went back home and got ready to sleep. Hoping it would be without dreams.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The dreams were getting out of hand. It seemed to her as if they were trying to destroy her love life.

First they had taken her relationship with Newt. Then they had made her humiliate herself by presuming Adam was going to ask her to marry him. But trying to hook her up with the angel? That was a bit too much.

She wondered if this was the way Agnes had felt in the past.

At least it was Aziraphale; she didn't know what she would do if it had been Crowley in her dream. Not that she disliked him. He was nice for a demon. And quite handsome, if that was what you were looking for in a man … being. But she had the suspicion that, in spite of appearances, Crowley was the gayer one.

It was funny, really. Just the day before she had received Aziraphale's invitation to tea and, not knowing what to do with her time, she had agreed to go to London and spend the day with him. She needed some time away and he needed to get away from that dusty bookshop from time to time, so it would be good for both of them.

And then, that night she had dreamt about him. It wasn't exactly an erotic dream; Erotic and Aziraphale didn't go together in her vocabulary. But it was impossible to misinterpret what was happening.

They were kissing.

The dream had been quite nice up to that point; they had been spending the day together, chatting, walking around Regents Park, having tea at a nice place close to Soho and then they went back to his bookshop for a glass of wine. Anathema had always been amazed by the angel's wine collection. For a heavenly being he drank like a Spaniard.

The next thing she knew was that they were kissing. On the couch. Wine forgotten on the table.

She woke up at that point and was grateful for that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anathema had been tempted to call him and cancel their date, but in the end she knew she was going to go. After all, she had already been there.

The day had been good and, up to the point where they were going back to the bookshop, exactly the same as in her dream. She wasn't surprised by that, she was already getting used to it.

"You have been pretty quiet today, my dear." Aziraphale said as they entered the shop.

The place was exactly as she remembered; piles and piles of books everywhere, not only in the proper shop but also in the back, dust, and some candles as the only light. It was a fire hazard, really, but Aziraphale didn't need to worry about things like that.

"I guess I have a lot of things on my mind," she said, sitting on the couch and waiting for him to join her.

He came back with two glasses of red wine and gave her one while sitting on the other side. "I imagine that things have been hard for you since-"

She knew where this conversation was going, and she really didn't want to have it once more. It had been a month since Newt left; she was getting used to be alone again, thank you very much, she didn't need all that concern. Especially not when she knew what was going to happen next.

"I'm fine, Aziraphale. He left; there is nothing else to say." She snapped, nervous and annoyed that he would bring her ex-boyfriend into the conversation when she already knew he was going to seduce her.

"That's not what we heard from him," Aziraphale continued, ignoring her mood. "Newt was here the other day and he still can't understand why you kick-"

"Oh, sod it!" Anathema did the only thing she knew would shut him up at that point, knowing full well that it was going to happen anyway. She put her glass on the table and, leaning forward, she kissed him.

She felt him going stiff with the shock and then his hands moved to her shoulders. This was where she knew he was going to pull her close, so she put her own hands around his neck.

"Are you finished already, angel?" a voice floated to them from the direction of Aziraphale's flat. "What the heaven do you think you are doing?"

"Anathema!" A second voice joined the first one, and she knew _that_ voice.

The hands at her shoulders pushed her backward and when she opened her eyes she saw three pairs of eyes staring at her in shock.

Then Crowley turned to Aziraphale and she was grateful that the fury was not directed at her. "Angel-" the demon ground out, his eyes flashing.

"I can explain, my dear." Aziraphale blurted quickly.

"Then you better explain quickly!" Crowley said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Anathema?" Newt was looking at her, his eyes full of pain and confusion. "What-why?"

She didn't know what to do anymore, this part had not been in her dream, and even if she didn't want to oppose the future she didn't want to be with Aziraphale. She wanted to be with Newt. And then was the fact that she had always known that didn't want to cross Crowley and it seemed she had been quite right on that one.

"I saw this happening in my dream," she said, looking only at her ex-boyfriend. She could hear the other two inhabitants of the room arguing, but at the moment she only cared about Newt. "I can finally see the future; I've wanted all my life to have Agnes' power, and not just be the one to decipher what she said. And now I can see it and it happens exactly as it happens in my dreams."

"When did you start having these dreams, dear?" Aziraphale was back at her side, with Crowley right behind him, somewhat placated.

She thought about it. "A couple of months ago."

"And do they always come true?"

"Yes."

"Do they come true, or you make them come true?" Crowley asked from behind the angel. He was still glaring at her, but at least he didn't look as if he was going to kill her or do something horrible to anyone anymore.

She thought about the bag at her door, about Adam and the ring, about the kiss. "Uhmm." She looked at Newt, who was staring intently at her. "were you going to leave me that day?"

He shook his head.

"Did you think about kissing me, Aziraphale?" she asked, not even looking at him. She already knew the answer, anyway, and felt her cheeks burn.

"Anathema, you are a beautiful woman," he began, "but I, like you, already have a partner."

So that was a no.

What kind of power did she have then? Her dreams would come true, but only if she worked on it? What about the ones where she saw different people? The ones she had about things in far away places?

"You _were_ seeing the future, Anathema," Newt said moving closer to her "but the future can be changed. Remember the last time." His eyes darted to the other two people in the room.

_It's not set in stone._ Adam has said. Now she understood what he meant. She looked from Newt to the angel and the demon, all three of them staring intently at her. "I should try to stop dreaming the future?" she asked, unsure of what to do now.

Newt sighed, and sat beside her. "No, we didn't say that."

"You should try to stop giving it so much importance," Aziraphale said, "sometimes what you see will happens and it will mean what you think it means. And sometimes it won't."

She felt relieved for the first time since she started to have the dreams, letting go of a tension she hadn't known was there.

"I think I know now why she left the prophecies for her descendant to interpret," Anathema said getting up from the couch and offering her hand to Newt, who took it quickly. "Knowing the future it's too much of a temptation, you don’t need to take risks when you already know what's going to happen."

She went to Aziraphale and hugged him lightly; enjoying the dangerous flash of jealousy she could see in Crowley's eyes. She did the same to the demon then, taking her boyfriend's hand again, she moved to the door.

"See yourselves out," she heard Crowley say, "the angel and I have things to discuss."

She laughed when she heard Aziraphale's embarrassed voice whisper, "Stop it, Crowley, they can still hear us."

"You know," Newt said once they were out of the bookshop and walking to Leicester Square tube station. "I think Agnes had the right idea."

She stopped and looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"If you are going to see the future, maybe you should just write it for your descendants to interpret."

"I don’t have any descendants, Newt."

He smiled at her and squeezed her hand. "We can work on that."

Anathema squeezed back and gave him a quick peck on the lips before starting to walk again.

That wasn't such a bad dream.

~Fin~


End file.
